A MILLIONAIRE lottery winner is turning a piece of local history into his dream home.

Rail worker Mark Benbow is using his £1m winnings to renovate the historic Station House in Dowlais.

The 38-year-old, currently living in Merthyr Tydfil, took home one of 15 seven-figure prizes won in the UK last June.

Now, after celebrating his success with friends and spending a two-week getaway with his children and wife Lisa in Tenerife, Mark is looking to settle down to a life of luxury – less than a mile from his childhood home.

The Express met up with Mark at his new address, just off Station Avenue in Dowlais, for a tour of the quaint Valleys building, which is thought to date back 120 years.

“I can’t say for certain but I am told that’s how old it is,” recalled Mark, standing in the beginnings of what will be his new kitchen.

“It used to be an old station master’s house, hence the name, and was a stop-off on the Merthyr line. It’s nowhere near finished but when it is, I would like to see a picture of it when it was back in its prime so I can compare it.

“It has been our dream to have a house like this, with plenty of space for the kids.

“We could have gone elsewhere and bought a big flashy house with a nice car, but this is our home. We looked at about eight houses in Merthyr, but I’ve always wanted to move back to Dowlais.”

When the kitchen, bathroom and new darts room are finished, he explained that a stained-glass window featuring an old steam engine will be placed inside.

“The whole place just fits me well, having worked on the train lines in Merthyr,” he said. “I won’t quit my job but it is easier now we don’t have to worry about bills.

“I do sometimes hear people whisper on the bus, ‘That’s the man who won the lottery’, but nothing has really changed. We don’t really want it to.”

But Mark still visits The Station Cafe in Merthyr to buy his lottery ticket in case he gets lucky again.

“I still feel this wasn’t the one,” he added, tongue in cheek. “Next time, I reckon it will be a lot more.” Maybe a cool £85m in next Tuesday’s Euromillions jackpot.